Petitioner wants Parliament to reveal expenditure for National Prayer Breakfast

In the petition filed before the Constitutional and Human Rights Division in Nairobi, advocate Lempaa Suyianka sued the Parliamentary Service Commission, the National Assembly, the Senate, the Attorney General and the Commission on Administrative Justice.

The petitioner contends that the respondents have violated his constitutional right of access to information under Article 35 of the Constitution by refusing or failing to disclose details of public expenditure relating to the National Prayer Breakfast.

Suyianka made a formal Freedom of Information request on March 13, 2025, addressed to the Clerk of the National Assembly, seeking information on the 2025 National Prayer Breakfast.

He states that after the request was declined, he wrote follow-up letters to the clerks of both the National Assembly and the Senate in June 2025.

The petition further states that in July 2025, the Commission on Administrative Justice wrote to the two clerks, urging them to provide the information sought.

Despite this intervention, the petitioner says the clerks advised him to seek the information from the Parliamentary Service Commission.

He further avers that in October 2025, the Parliamentary Service Commission informed him that the National Prayer Breakfast was included in its annual estimates of expenditure tabled in Parliament under Article 221 of the Constitution, but failed to disclose the actual amount spent on the 2025 event.

In the petition, Suyianka argues that the continued refusal to provide the information violates Articles 35(1)(a) and 35(3) of the Constitution and undermines national values and principles of governance, including transparency and accountability under Article 10.

He further claims that Parliament’s involvement in organising the National Prayer Breakfast violates the doctrine of separation of powers and that the use of public funds for the event amounts to imprudent expenditure in violation of Article 201 of the Constitution.

The petitioner is also accusing the Commission on Administrative Justice of failing to enforce its constitutional and statutory mandate to compel disclosure of the information.

Lempaa sought declarations that the respondents violated the Constitution, orders compelling disclosure of the expenditure details, and an order restraining the respondents from using public funds to organise the 2026 National Prayer Breakfast.

However, High Court Judge Bahati Mwamuye declined to issue interim orders in the case, instead directing that the matter be heard on merit.